You might think a news organization that featured a guest so prominently would at least get a passing mention after his death. Robert LaMay was the former Washington state trooper who refused to get vaccinated and thus resigned (rather than be terminated). Well, he died on Jan. 28, 2022. You wouldn’t know it if you watched Fox News though.
Not one word.
But then again, Fox News isn’t a news organization, per se. It’s just propaganda for the feeble-minded.
Source: Media Matters
Last week’s toll of more than 16,000 recorded U.S. deaths from COVID-19 is made all the more heartbreaking because so many of the deceased had the opportunity to take vaccines that dramatically reduce the danger posed by the virus. Robert LaMay, a former Washington state trooper whose tragic death from COVID-19 was confirmed by the press over the weekend, was one such victim.
Fox News has tried to turn workers who refuse vaccine mandates into culture war heroes, even though the network itself voluntarily imposed a requirement that its own employees be either vaccinated or tested for COVID-19 daily. LaMay became the latest such figure in October, after he resigned from the state police rather than follow Washington state’s vaccine requirement.
The network’s hosts and others on the right promoted LaMay’s story and presented his refusal to take a lifesaving drug as an example their audiences could emulate. But once his 15 minutes of fame were over and he could no longer be used to further the right-wing agenda, LaMay became expendable – his passing from the virus has not been mentioned on Fox as of posting time.
Media Matters lists on October 18:
-Fox & Friends First, with co-host Carley Shimkus
-Fox News Primetime that night, host Will Cain
-Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria covered his resignation
-Fox News’ America’s Newsroom also covered his resignation
-Laura Ingraham primetime interview
Fox News wanted viewers to hear an anti-vax trooper’s story – until he died of COVID.
The network has yet to mention Robert LaMay’s passing, after turning him into a culture war hero for resigning rather than getting vaccinated. https://t.co/dR5rTAEdTW
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) January 31, 2022